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“I’ve known Mark since elementary school, so we’re pretty close,” Sweeney said. “It’s good (to have multiple options) because say one of us goes down, one of us can go in and not worry about it. And certain times we can switch out so there’s fresh legs out there.”

Gillis said that if he doesn’t win the job, he wouldn’t be upset with head coach Craig Stinson’s decision.

“I just want whatever is best for the team,” Gillis said. “I really just wanna play linebacker, so if they wanna go with Derin and keep me at linebacker then I’m OK with that. But like I said, whatever is best for the team.”

It looks as though Gillis has the job to lose. But he is, in fact, an effective defensive spark.

“Mark Gillis had 95 tackles last year at linebacker,” Stinson said. “Derin Sweeney is a newcomer. Last year he had some injury problems. We were looking at having him man the quarterback position. So this year we’re looking at both Derin and Mark.

“Right now it’s still a battle. Right now it’s mark, but it’s wide open. We’ll see how the rest of camp is and see who’s ready for the opener with Woodstown.”

Sweeney said that regardless of what happens, the Tartans have one simple goal.Said Sweeney: “Just try to win them all.”